Gift Lubele
Gift Lubele in Cape Town, cream suit, head and shoulders. Photograph.

About Gift Lubele

Building Africa’s AI future, not importing it.

AI and data leader. Founder of Auraa.Africa, Director at Rinku Connect, AI Lead at YIEDI, co-founder of Kudoti, and the artist behind South Africa's first AI-generated Amapiano album.

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In 30 seconds

Speaker. Builder. Operator. Artist.

  1. 01

    For event organisers

    AI keynotes and workshops told by someone shipping AI products in Africa, with music and stagecraft.

    Talks

  2. 02

    For enterprise and SMEs

    Practical AI: readiness diagnostics, automation and custom tools, scoped after a short call.

    AI Solutions

  3. 03

    For partners

    Auraa for African AI music, Rinku Connect and YIEDI for enterprise and supplier development.

    Ventures

What I do

Five kinds of work, one thesis.

Gift Lubele speaking on stage with a microphone. Photograph.

AI keynote speaker

Keynotes, workshops and panels that turn AI into products, jobs and culture.

  • Keynotes, workshops and panels across South Africa
  • Talks for banking, energy, ESD, creative and SME audiences
  • TEDx speaker; ITWeb AI Summit 2026
See talks and book

Recognition

  • Huawei Developer Competition Grand Innovation Prize, May 2026 (Auraa.Africa LinkedIn announcement, not a press award, not a booked Huawei keynote)
  • 1st Prize, BRICS Young Innovator competition, US$25,000 (Kudoti)
  • Nestlé Global Award, US$40,000 (Kudoti)
  • Fast Company SA, 25 Most Innovative Companies, March 2020 (Kudoti)
  • Fast Company SA, Top 20 Entrepreneurs Under 30 (2019)
  • Most Influential Young People in South Africa (2018)
  • World Trade Organization certificate, Asia Model Conference (Bangkok)
  • TEDx speaker
  • Speaker, ITWeb AI Summit 2026

Education

  1. 2024-2025

    MBA, Artificial Intelligence & Data Analytics

    Hult International Business School (Boston)

    President, Hult Sustainability Club

  2. Undergraduate studies (Entrepreneurship & Leadership)

    African Leadership University

Affiliations

  • · WEF Global Shapers, Johannesburg Hub
  • · Columnist, Leadership magazine (South Africa)

Spoken at · featured in

  • Wits University logo
  • African Energy Week logo
  • Fak'ugesi logo
  • Business Analysis Summit logo
  • Sunday World logo
  • The Open Letter logo
  • Huawei logo
  • ITWeb logo
  • YIEDI logo
  • Pharma Dynamics
  • Kaya 959
  • SABC News
  • eNCA
  • Moneyweb
  • Podcast and Chill with MacG
  • IOL
  • Daily Maverick
  • Newzroom Afrika
  • EngineerIT
  • iAfrica
  • TEDx
  • VOW FM

Featured in

Full bio

Gift Lubele is a South African AI and data analytics leader from Tembisa, working at the intersection of technology, entrepreneurship, and African creative culture. He is the founder of Auraa.Africa, the AI music platform behind South Africa's first AI-generated Amapiano album, and Director at Rinku Connect, an AI-powered business intelligence product for Africa.

He currently serves as AI Lead at YIEDI (Youth Innovation Entrepreneurship Design Institute), where he helps shape enterprise- and supplier-development programs through AI and data. He is also a co-founder of Kudoti, a waste-tech company. He is a TEDx speaker, a contributor to Leadership magazine, and an active member of the World Economic Forum's Global Shapers Johannesburg Hub.

What I believe

Africa shouldn't import its AI future. We should build it.

The next decade of AI will reflect whoever shows up to build it. African builders need to be in the room, on the model, in the data.

AI is most powerful when it democratises access.

To studios, to capital, to expertise. The tools that matter are the ones that put leverage in more hands, not fewer.

Ventures and links
  • Auraa.Africa · Founder / CEO. AI music creation for African creators (Afrobeats, Amapiano, Highlife, and more). First catalogue: South Africa's first AI-generated amapiano album, 30 Sep 2025, GNLUB.
  • Rinku Connect · Director. AI-powered business intelligence for Africa: automated diagnostics and intelligent matching that connect entrepreneurs with corporate opportunities and funding.
  • YIEDI · AI Lead. AI strategy and delivery for the Youth Innovation Entrepreneurship Design Institute's enterprise- and supplier-development programs.
  • Kudoti · Co-founder. Waste-tech platform connecting informal and formal waste collectors with recyclers.

Work with Gift

Bring the Voice of AI in Africa to your room.

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